Eaglezview

Do you remember anything about the first time you walked? I don’t remember that. My memory fails me with a whole bunch of similar things – the first time I uttered a meaningful word, my first day at school, the first prize I won at school and a numerous  other things that would have meant the whole world to me at that time ? I am sure, as I progress towards adolescence and beyond, there would be countless occasions to cherish and many others to be just left as bygones. When I look back now, I realize that many of these probably didn’t merit such a furor of emotions and attachment. Nevertheless, it is exactly these milestones, the highs and lows that has shaped me more than my education or anything else. For the outside world, I am what I am because my cognition and behavior was  and is guided by these unseemly or joyous occasions. Internally, I define myself with these milestones more than anything else. I judge myself with these, chastise and pat myself, predisposed by these blips on my life’s radar. Some blips are as large as the ocean, drowning me forever, others are like the tip of a pin – pricking and poking. Then there are the huge helium balloon blips, that lift me off the ground into weightlessness, into the ethereal experience of joy.

How did I choose them, when did I give them form and identity? Or is it that my environment and the people around me gave them to me? Do I share my milestones with others around me? Are there school friends, college friends, family members who share the common experience? Did they recognize the same events as a milestone in their lives? Did they give it the same shape and form? A hundred questions!

I think, I chose my milestones partly driven by the judgment of the outside world and partly because of my fad during that period. So, if being good in sports as well was an emphasis at home and Boris Becker inspired me, then the simple act of playing tennis after school for 3 months became a cherished milestone for me. Why ‘milestone’ and not just another leaf from the pages of memory? Because, those 3 months did give me a part of me which still lives in me and is not yet history. Of course, there are the obvious landmarks of marriage and graduation which are more concrete. Do I share milestones with friends? Except for mere completion of academic courses, on the calendar, I don’t share much common milestones with my friends; which is sad to a certain extent.

Milestones – we may formalize them or we may not even acknowledge them when they happen – no matter what we do, we can neither deny their existence in our lives nor the power they sway over us.  

I didn’t post on the biggest scam that shook my country’s corporate landscape in the last few weeks; but then, how could I not write a piece for one of the most historic moments during our lifetime – it is like been born in the era of the moon landings – even if you had nothing to do with its occurence or its preparation, you felt special just because you existed in that era of triumph. A black man in the white house is definitely as monumental as the moon landing. Obama’s got the charisma, the gift of the gab, a sound head on his shoulders and unsurpassed support from all quarters. Coming with this kind of hype, he needs all those supporting hands to deliver even an iota of all the claims that some would call are the tallest of the tall political rhetoric. On the sidelines, I think, it would be interesting to read the two books he has written to get an insight into the man of the moment’s mind. It would be interesting to watch this period of presidency as it rolls on. Challenges are hard and high, the man looks the part, the cameras have started rolling – the verdict will not be far behind. Good luck Obama!

I consider the early defense forces to be the cradle of modern day practice of management. Of course, in the later years, business corporations developed new techniques focused on data & scientific principles. These corporations in the business world have over the years have left the defense services behind in the sucessful running of an organisation. The institutions of the Army, Air Force and Navy have been facing a dilemma since early 90s in India. For quite a few years now, a malady has been nagging the defense forces of our country – Shortage of officers. In the army alone, close to 1500 officers have been estimated to have put down their papers. The most intelligent of the country’s youth will to join the corporate world rather than join the three arms of the defense services. Today, with the world of warfare also going high tech and with India becoming a nuclear power, it is all the more imperative that our defense forces are run by smart and competent people. Training and discipline go a long way in this effort, but the base requirement of inherent intelligence can’t be put aside. The sooner the government takes cognizance of this the better, for there will be a day when we might regret having neglected the need to recruit, grow and nurture smart defense leaders.

What ails the defense services in India, in terms of attracting good people? 

ü       Insufficient pay, archaic infrastructure and perks not in line with the times

ü       A lower of stature in the social protocol

ü       Potential hardships – frequent transfers

ü       Seclusion from the rapid all round growth, lack of use of Information technology for personal, professional and organization growth & efficiency

ü       Lack of planned strategic recruitment

ü       Lack of planned PR effort to spread awareness about the goodness of army life 

What is needed to revive the interest of youngsters to join the defense services is the following: 

ü       Pay on par with corporate world or almost comparable pays

ü       Better and modern infrastructure, amenities and perks

ü       Use of information technology in all spheres

ü       Strategic road map for recruitment and organization development

ü       A repeated pan India campaign via all available mediums to create awareness amongst the youth and inspire the bright among them to join in the service of the nation. As a final option conscription can be preferred, but am not sure in a county like India, how successful this will be.

The sooner the government realizes this and makes radical changes in its outlook to the modernization of the defense of the nation, the better it is.